Vivir es Morir, Morir es Vivir
by AlarataraWitchIce
Summary: Citari Merlin has walked the earth for over two-thousand years. When she applies for a job at Hogwarts, she can't avoid meeting Mr. Severus Snape. And the curse that plagues her is wholly unknown... SnapeXOC. Oneshot.


Charlotte McGee.

It means nothing to me. It's just a name that I've been using for the past decade, and I could easily change it to a different one if I felt the urge to.

I could be Valeria Thomas. I could be Alicia Trapp. I could be Cecelia Cardinale`.

But would it matter? No. Because, you see, none of those are my real name. So why should I care what people call me? Why should I care what my name is? Well, I don't.

Charlotte McGee is just what I write on checks and on things that need my signature. And, just like the names that I've used, my signatures are different.

With every name I use, I use a different look. For instance, Charlotte McGee dresses in light, bright colors. She always wears pants or shorts, depending on the season, and her bathing suits are always one-piece.

However, the personality that I associate with the name I use is almost always the same. Dark, brooding, cold. I don't like being around…people. Not specific kinds of people, just people in general.

Because people are idiots. They are ignorant, and stupid. And they seem intent on destroying themselves. They do, on a regular basis, destroy themselves, as well as each other.

Those people, as I have found out, are called murderers, and serial killers. And those people that kill others, they almost always seem to have a pattern. Age, facial structure, ethnicity, religion.

I tend to keep away from those people, even though they wouldn't be able to tell my background if they wanted to. I was from everywhere, and nowhere. My facial structure was unlike any other in the world, and I had no religion and no noticeable age. Though I looked very young.

And I, Charlotte McGee, have been alive for two thousand years, since the time of the ancient Mayans.

When I was in my first lifetime, I was very young and very naïve. I was just like your average Mayan. However, I was born to a very powerful god-king. My father was the most powerful man in all of Tikal,* a city just a few miles inland from the Yucatan Peninsula.**

I'd been the princess of Tikal, and by my seventeenth birthday, I was already betrothed to a man that my father saw fit. He and I were of powerful magic back then, and we kept that away from the real world.

Magic and non-magic should be kept away from each other.

Anyway, back to the man that I was betrothed to. My father had specifically chosen him because he was the same as my father and I. He also could control that which was around him, and he was almost as powerful as my father.

When I refused the man, Caitari,*** the one thing that he was after, he became a tad angry. He cursed me, and I became ageless, forced to live forever. I would remain seventeen until the end of time.

When my father, Merlin, found out, he was so furious I though he was going to explode. Instead, he'd merely hugged me, stroked my hair, and let me know that everything was going to be alright. He killed Caitari and we left Tikal.

While my father aged and changed, I remained the same. Tall, bright green eyes, full lips, dark hair. However, there was one thing that changed. My skin got lighter and lighter as I got older.

I learned to control my magic and used a special piece of wood for it.

It was a foot long, and made out of petrified white ash wood. I carved it myself, and put a core within it that magnified my powers. And thus, the first wand was created.

My father learned many languages, and wrote down everything he knew about magic and life. He was a very smart man, and I admired him to the very last.

When he died, I lived on. I became wiser, more grown up. I'd inherited quite a bit of money from my father, and it also piled up over the centuries. I had no need for food, water, or even sleep.

I'd been assassinated several times, and then come back to live once more. I simply cannot die. Though several people have found out my secret, they have died before they have been able to spread it.

As well as being indestructible, I am, in fact, the most powerful witch in the world. And I am the first. And now, I am within my two-thousandth year, and I have learned about a magical school where young witches and wizards are taught magic.

It appears that there is an entire world of witches and wizards, including a Ministry of Magic from which the whole world is run.

Several of the charms, hexes, jinxes, and spells that are used in the current world are the ones that I created a thousand years ago or more. I have remained under the radar of all the 'traces' that the Ministry puts on young wizards, because I was born before it was invented.

Because I am already seventeen, I wouldn't be able to apply to join one of the magic schools, because apparently, the witches and wizards become of legal age at seventeen. And therefore, school would end on that date.

So, if I wanted to join one of the schools, I would have to apply as a teacher.

I have received word that a school named Hogwarts is looking for a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and I decided to offer my services. Legend has it that Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry has never had a DADA teacher for more than one year.

I sighed and took out a roll of parchment. With a quill pen, I began writing a letter.

_Professor Dumbledore, _

_I have received word that you are searching for a new teacher at your school. I would like to request a meeting with you to discuss the terms of the job, and I would be grateful if you would consider allowing me to become the newest teacher at Hogwarts. _

_There is, however, one thing that I will not mention about myself in this letter, for fear of someone reading this letter other than yourself. _

_Spero di vedervi presto, professor Dumbledore. Sarebbe un onore incontrarmi con voi._

_Con la pace, ****_

_Citari Merlin*****_

I sat back and tied the letter to my owl's leg. She blinked at me sleepily and waited for me to tell her where to go.

"Professor Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I told her, stroked her feathers once, and then she was off.

Her glossy feathers caught the moonlight easily as she flew away. I smiled and leaned back against the headboard of my bed.

Why had I used my real name in the letter? I wasn't sure. Perhaps it was because I didn't want to hide in this wizard world. Maybe I wanted to be myself.

I almost laughed out loud; if I was myself, I'd bee the princess of Tikal, daughter of the god-king Merlin. I couldn't be that in the wizard world because of my secret.

I wasn't exactly sure why I'd bought a bed; I had no need for it. There was absolutely nothing that I could do with one, besides relaxation, of course. And I had almost no need for relaxation as well as sleep.

I just shrugged it off and decided that I bought one to keep up appearances. If I hadn't bought one, the town that I was living in would have gotten suspicious. Then again, I could've said that I'd brought one with me…but then my current back-story would be useless.

Then I wondered if I'd purchased the bed simply because I wished to be normal. Normal people slept, right? Right. And they dreamed, too. I longed so much to dream…to escape the real world for just a little while.

Until my owl, Nagaina, got back, I decided that I wouldn't think. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.

Soon…Albus Dumbledore would be knocking, and wondering what the secret I had mentioned was.

~~~~~$$$$$$%^%%$%$%$^$%^^&**(*&^~~~~~~

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, looking back at the owl that had delivered a peculiar letter to his desk.

The owl itself was black, with intelligent dark green eyes, and was very large. Its talons were very sharp-looking and the owl stood guard over the letter until she was sure that only Albus Dumbledore had retrieved it.

Albus was confused. When he'd opened the letter, the first thing that he'd noticed was the elegant script that had been written on the parchment. There were so many embellishments that he almost had a hard time reading it. The calligraphy reminded him of the early English documents that he'd seen in museums.

Then, he began to read the letter. He was surprised; he hadn't been expecting to see someone apply for the job.

From the very ending of the letter, he supposed that the person was from Italy, for the last lines were written in Italian and not in English.

_Citari_…but what was the last name? He couldn't quite tell what it was, when it was surrounded with the swirls and the squiggles. _M…E…R…L…I…N_. Merlin?

Citari Merlin…perhaps she was a descendent from Merlin? Or maybe she just shared the same name? Albus wasn't sure.

But when she mentioned a secret, he was instantly intrigued. He had to meet with this girl, no matter who she was.

Albus quickly took out a quill and began writing as legibly as he could, but also as quickly as his hands could manage. Easily, he finished the letter in a few moments, and attempted to give it to the owl.

However, the owl wouldn't take it. When he tried to put it in its beak, the owl turned away and gestured to its leg.

Albus hadn't acknowledged the fact that the letter had been tied to the owl's powerful leg. He took the string that had been used in the original letter and made the parchment into a scroll.

The owl allowed him to tie it onto her leg. She took off from the window sill and flew away into the starry night.

~~~~~~~!$$%%^&&***(())((**&&&&&^%$!$%^&*()(*&^%$!~~~

When Nagaina returned, it was no later than midnight. That had been her fastest flight yet!

I stroked her feathers and told her what a pretty owl she was. Then I took the letter from her leg and read the reply.

_Ms. Merlin, _

_I have to admit I was intrigued by your letter. _

_I would like to meet you in person. _

_Be at the Leaky Cauldron this Tuesday at five p.m. _

_~Albus Dumbledore_

Short and to the point. I liked this fellow.

_And now_, I thought to myself as Nagaina landed on my shoulder, _to wait for Tuesday. _

~~~~!$$$%$%$^%^%^%&^&^&&%^&%^&*&^&&&***(()(*&&&^^%~~~

I walked into the old, shabby building confidently, my wand tucked out of sight.

When I entered the building, all of the people stopped to stare. I looked odd compared to them, I knew.

Whistles and cat-calls from some of the patrons made me draw my wand. Immediately, the sounds stopped.

When I wasn't able to locate Mr. Dumbledore, I looked to the bartender.

"I'm looking for an Albus Dumbledore." I told him. The bartender looked surprised, but answered my question anyway.

"Uh, he's over there, ma'am." the bartender pointed to a wise-looking man sitting at a two-person table in the far corner of the room.

"Thank you." I said, and flicked a piece of gold his way. He caught it with ease, but his expression was startled. I frowned. Was my form of currency not accurate?

I shrugged and walked away, towards Dumbledore.

As I strode towards him, I noticed particular things about him. He was tall, but not giant, and he had many creases in his face. Half-moon glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, and threatened to obscure his bright blue eyes. He had a long white beard that was tied near the bottom with a string that had tassels on the ends.

And he was dressed in the oddest way that I had ever seen. He was wearing dark purple robes. Was this the standard for wizards and witches nowadays? Robes? It seemed very stereotypical to me, but I shouldn't make fun of their customs.

I cleared my throat, and the good professor looked up. I held my hand out for him to shake. He grasped my hand and smiled at me.

"Hello. I am Citari Merlin. Nice to meet you." I said as politely as I could manage.

"We finally meet. Ms. Merlin, I am happy to make your acquaintance." Dumbledore replied.

"Likewise."

Dumbledore gestured for me to sit down and so I did. I crossed my legs and set my hands on the table.

"So." Dumbledore said, breaking the awkward silence, "I understand that you would like to apply for the Defense Against the Dark Arts job at Hogwarts."

"Yes, that was the point that I had hoped to get across." I said jokingly.

"I suspect that you have a resume for reference to your previous jobs-" Dumbledore started, but I cut him off.

"No. I don't." I said. "You see, Professor, if I were to bring you a copy of my resume, we may have to move to a different location just to allow the several thousand papers a chance to fit inside of the room."

Dumbledore's eyes widened.

"Well then, Ms. Merlin, how would you manage to have 'several thousand' jobs when you look no more than seventeen?"

"Professor Dumbledore, in my letter, I mentioned that I had a secret that you must know about me before I begin working for you." I said softly. Dumbledore nodded and gestured for me to continue. "When I was seventeen, I was cursed, by a very powerful wizard. And when this curse was cast upon me, I was forced to remain seventeen forever.

"That was in the summer of eighteen-hundred B.C., over two-thousand years ago." I concluded. "And before you ask, my father was the original wizard: Merlin. I am the first witch ever to be born, and I will be the last witch to live."

Dumbledore's expression remained almost unchanged. He nodded and sighed.

_Legilimens, _I thought.

_The poor thing…perhaps I should give her the job_…Professor Dumbledore thought.

"Professor, I would rather not be given the job out of pity. If I am to receive the job, I would rather earn it." I said curtly. I was not fond of pity when I didn't deserve it.

Dumbledore looked surprised.

"You are familiar with legilimency?" Dumbledore asked.

I laughed. "Familiar with it? I invented it! A thousand years ago, when someone came up to me and asked me for a weapon to use against their enemies when they wanted to know what they were thinking, I created the incantation."

Dumbledore frowned.

"You created one of the most widely used spells in the world?"

"Yes. Along with hundreds of others." I answered. "Though, there are some curses and hexes that I dearly regret inventing. The Killing Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, the Imperius Curse."

"Miss Merlin, I believe I have heard quite enough." Dumbledore said and folded his hands above the table. "You got the job."

"Really Professor?" I asked. I was shocked. Even after hearing that I created the Unforgivable Curses, he wanted me as a teacher?

"Really. I've heard your story and I would like to say that you are more qualified than any other teacher that I've ever hired." Dumbledore said proudly. "I expect you to meet me in Diagon Alley tomorrow at three p.m."

"Professor, I do not know how to get to Diagon Alley." I said.

"Then meet me here at three, and I will escort you there so we can get you some supplies for your new job." Dumbledore stood and smiled at me. "It will be then that we will discuss your salary and sleeping quarters."

"Professor, I do not require any payment. I will work for free. The only reason that I applied for the job was because I was bored with my current life." I explained.

"Nonsense." Dumbledore said and exited the Leaky Cauldron.

I sighed and shook my head. This man was going to be difficult.

~~~!$%$%^%^&^&&^*&&*&((*(**(*))(*(()()(*()(*&&^%%^^%$~~~~~~

Diagon Alley was much more different than what I had imagined.

It was nothing like the muggle world; the streets were all crowded with uneven cobblestones and equally uneven buildings. People were shouting and talking and laughing, and there were some merchants calling out to random people about their goods.

It was all so odd and I was so unused to everything that was going on.

Dumbledore gestured for me to follow him and so I did. I had worn one of the dresses from the Roman periods, and hoped desperately that I wasn't dressed too oddly. I'd worn a black cloak over it and decided that I didn't look too out of place.

Albus Dumbledore led me into a store that sold…wizard clothing. And on this day, this most important of all days, I had not forgotten my wand, thank God!

"Stand right here and I'll be back with Madam Malkin." Dumbledore said, and pointed to a spot on the floor.

I automatically stood on the spot on the floor, not moving.

"Hello." a young voice said. He sounded very arrogant and condescending. "Are you here to get your robes for Hogwarts, too?"

I turned to see a boy, no more than eleven, staring coldly at me. Oh, if only he knew…

"Who are you to ask such a question, little boy?" I countered frostily. He flinched.

I had let some of my past slip into my voice. When people looked at me, they usually saw a young, harmless girl of seventeen. When I spoke…they feared me. Well, only if I wanted them to. If I didn't, then their assumption of what I was wouldn't change.

"Draco Malfoy." he answered proudly. He was proud of his name? What could be so great about the name 'Malfoy'? Surely, his reputation tied in with his surname. I was determined to find out why he was so proud…

"My name is Citari Merlin." I told Draco. "As for your first question, yes and no."

"Miss Merlin," Dumbledore's voice whispered from behind me, "I've brought Madam Malkin."

When I turned, I saw a very short woman who wore mauve robes. She had a weathered face, but she was happy. I expected that she had been dealing with stressful clients all day.

I decided to make her job a bit easier.

"Hello Miss Merlin. I must now take your measurements." Malkin said with a smile. She waved her wand- a dark, short piece of wood, and I figured it was rather ironic -and a long tape measure flew through the air and began zipping around me.

I held my arms out straight and stood perfectly still. The tape measure constricted and then released my body parts. My leg, my chest, my shoulders. When the tape measure was done, Mrs. Malkin turned back to me and spoke.

"What color robes would you like?" she asked me while looking at her clipboard.

I remembered back to the article that I had read on Hogwarts school, and how they had the different houses. Then I remembered the different colors.

"Scarlet, gold, yellow, black, blue, gray, green, and silver." I said.

"All the colors of Hogwarts?" Draco asked from behind me.

"Yes, Malfoy." I said.

"Ms. Merlin, how many robes would you like of each color?" Malkin asked me as she scratched down more words on her clipboard.

"I would like two of each color, except for the black. I'd like five of the black." I answered her.

She nodded curtly and walked away, into her back room where she probably kept all of the fabrics.

In a few moments, she was out with the articles of clothing that I'd asked for.

"Thank you." I said, and took out a pouch that I'd hidden beneath my cloak. It contained enough gold to make Malkin stumble under the weight of it. She looked inside and gasped.

"Ms. Merlin, you have given me way too much." she said, and tried to hand some of it back. I shook my head.

"Think of it as a tip. Thank you, Mrs. Malkin." I said, and Dumbledore and I exited the store.

We made a quick stop at Gringotts, where I had most of my gold (I'd asked them to transfer all of my money into wizard money and they created a vault for me.), and then continued on to several other stores.

After all of the essential materials were purchased, Dumbledore turned to me and insisted that I let him buy me a familiar. When I'd asked what that was, he told me that it was an animal that a witch or wizard kept as a pet.

"Professor, I already have a familiar. That beautiful black owl that I sent you the letter with is my familiar." I protested weakly.

"Perhaps, but she is mainly for messages, is she not?" Dumbledore asked rhetorically. He pushed me into a store that had a rickety sign outside. The sign read 'Magical Menagerie'.

Inside, the store was loud and messy, with several of the animals running wild around the place. I shook my head. I would never understand these people, would I?

Dumbledore and I strolled through isle after isle, and didn't find anything that tickled my fancy.

We were just past the bunnies that turned into top-hats and into the snakes, when I found an animal that immediately caught my attention.

Behind a sign that read 'caution', there was a wooden cage with a glass door, and behind that glass door was the most beautiful snake that I'd ever seen.

It was a fairly large snake, and immediately met my eyes. They were a very deep black and mesmerizing.

The snake itself was a brownish olive-green, and had black rows of scales that slashed across its back in groups of four. It looked like it was about six feet long, and was watching me intently. ******

"_Hello." _the snake hissed at me. I smiled and moved the sign and door away so I could hear better. _"Will you get me out of this dreadful cage?"_

"_Of course, but you will accompany me to Hogwarts," _I said back. The snake nodded.

Dumbledore looked shocked.

"You can speak in parseltounge?" Dumbledore asked in a shocked tone.

"Yes I can. I am the original witch, as well as the original parselmouth." I said proudly. "And this is the animal that I want. I want this snake."

"A snake? I'm not sure if that'll work in Hogwarts…" Dumbledore trailed off, unsure, but then he caught my hostile expression. "Of course, as long as you're happy and make sure that that snake doesn't harm the students…I suppose you may keep him."

I felt a lot like a young girl, asking for my father to let me keep a puppy. I shook my head and took the snake from the cage. It coiled happily around my wrist and then slithered itself up to my neck. Once there, his head rested gently on the hollow of my throat.

"Excuse me, sir?" I asked the cashier at the front desk. "I would like to purchase this snake."

The man looked up at me and his eyes widened. "Uh. No charge, ma'am. We were going to put him down anyway."

"Really? Why?" I looked at the snake's eyes. "Is he ill?" I couldn't find anything wrong with the snake.

"No, no, nothing like that. He's just not very sociable. I bet he's glad that you came along and picked him up." the cashier said and shook his head. Then he mumbled something that sounded like, "You witches and your animals."

I felt the urge to draw my wand and point it at him, and then ask him to repeat what he'd just said, but then decided against it. No need to cause a scene in the middle of a crowded animal store…

I nodded curtly and motioned for Dumbledore to follow me out of the store.

"So you chose a snake." Dumbledore said. "May I ask why?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Well…why'd you choose a snake?" Dumbledore asked again.

"None of your business." I said.

Dumbledore laughed and we continued back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"The school year begins in five days, so I expect you to be here in three days so I may escort you to the school. This means that you will have two days to prepare for the classes and get your schedule." Dumbledore said cheerily. He clasped my hand for a moment, and then let it go. Then he apparated on the spot and I was left alone.

I turned on the spot, all my purchased things in my arms, and thought of my room back at home.

When I appeared there, I set everything down, took my trunk out from my closet and packed everything into it. It was a simple matter of finding out at what angles everything would fit into it.

I put most of the robes into the trunk, but kept one set out. The silver one. I liked that one more than the others, because silver was my favorite color.

When I was done packing, I turned to my new snake and looked at him intently.

"_Well, I suppose we should see about getting you a name." _I said to him. _"Is there one that you like in particular, or should I just use whatever pops into my head?" _

"_Well…considering that I almost never have contact with humans, there is no human name that I like. However, my mother did manage to name me before she died." _my snake said wistfully.

"_And what name was that?"_

"_Nag. My name was Nag, but then the people at the store changed it."_ Nag said. He slithered down from my neck and curled himself up on my bed.

"_Well, which to you like better? The name that the store gave you, or the name that your mother named you?" _I asked him. He looked up at me silently and let out a breath.

"_I would prefer Nag over Tim any day." _Nag said. His black eyes narrowed and he traveled up my arm and back to my neck.

"_Then Nag it is." _

Nag and I didn't speak anymore of the name that the store had given him; he was too embarrassed to be called a human name. I let the topic drop simply for his sake.

"_What is your name?" _Nag asked me. I was so surprised at his sudden speech that I dropped the book I'd been reading. _"Oops. I'm sorry." _

"_No, no. It's okay."_ I said, setting the book aside. I let the spine of the book sadly bend in the direction opposite its normal one. I hated to see books like that, but I had no bookmark for it.

"_My name is Citari Merlin. I hail from Tikal." _

"_Ah, the great Mayan city. I was surprised when I recognized you earlier, but now I know why I did. My great, great, great, great grandmother was your father's snake, Ciria." _Nag said, and twisted himself tighter around my neck.

"_Wow. I thought you looked familiar." _why had I not seen it before? He looked almost exactly like my father's pet snake.

Ciria had been a great snake, a very easy one to talk to. She had been a very intelligent snake, and a very loyal one as well. She'd even been next to my father when he died, and stayed there even though I'd told her that she could leave. A wonderful companion.

Nag didn't pester me about it any more. He just rested his head on the hollow of my throat and fell asleep. Even though I didn't sleep, I slowed my heart rate and closed my eyes, which was as close as I could get to sleep.

~~~~((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))~~~~

I allowed myself no backward glance as Albus Dumbledore clasped my arm and we apparated to a small village that lay outside of Hogwarts. Hogsmeade, I think the village was called.

We looked like quite the odd pair, I suppose. Me with Nag wrapped comfortably around my neck, carrying a miniaturized version of my trunk in my hand,- so small that it was practically a suitcase -wearing black robes and looking like the regal princess that I was.

And the professor, his arm wrapped around mine, white beard and blue eyes, light robes, gently guiding me as if I were a blind teenager.

Yes, odd, but not at all uncommon. I had seen cases similar to mine in public before, but usually in Diagon Alley.

Albus and I arrived at Hogwarts- which turned out to be a huge castle -in no time. Nag was getting nervous, so I stroked his head with my free hand. My wand, reassuringly warm and hard, was tucked into my boots which were hidden by my cloak.

Albus led me through the gates and into the grand castle. He let me walk freely behind him, and I followed without hesitation.

No normal human would be able to build it, and that much was obvious, as it was supported by magic.

"This is the Great Hall, where you will be meeting your colleagues." Albus said, and gestured to a pair of huge double-doors. He waved his wand and the doors opened with a loud groan.

Inside, there were four long tables, even spaced in the room, and a table at the very back of the room. The ceiling was high and pointed, and there were several white candles floating in mid air. Up near the head table, there was a wooden podium.

And, up at the head table, there were several people eating, laughing, and talking merrily.

"Everyone, I would like to introduce to you the newest member of our staff. Miss Citari Merlin. She will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts." Dumbledore said, and all the chatter stopped. People stared at Nag, who was still curled up on my neck

And then, everyone got up at once, and I was suddenly mobbed by a horde of teachers.

"Hello, my name is Minerva McGonagall, and I am the head of the Gryffindor House." said a tall, black-haired woman. She shook my hand and I noticed that she had a very severe face and her hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She wore a pointed hat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. McGonagall." I replied easily.

"Not to be rude, but how old are you?" Minerva asked, eyes careful.

"Seventeen, Ms. McGonagall." I answered. By the look on her face, I knew that she had expected me to be around that age. I wondered absentmindedly whether or not Albus had told them my secret.

"Argus Filch." said a man who was wearing a horrible expression. He was short, and had long hair and wore a trench coat. By his side, he had a cat.

I took my hand in his, even though he hadn't offered it, and shook it.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Filch. May I say that you look fantastic. What are you…? Twenty-five?" I said, trying to butter him up. His face turned a bright red and he chuckled, proving that I had been right. "So what do you teach? You look like you command a lot of respect from the students!"

"_What are you trying to do here, Citari?" _Nag hissed, still laying on my throat.

"_I'm just trying to make them like me." _I answered quietly, trying to not draw attention to myself. Luckily for me, Filch was still blushing and looking smug.

"Actually, I don't teach. I am the caretaker here at Hogwarts. And this," Filch said, picking up the cat that was weaving in and out of his legs, "is Mrs. Norris."

The cat's intelligent eyes caught mine and I smiled at her. I stroked her head once and she purred and leaned toward me.

"That's unusual." a voice said from behind me. Filch looked like a deer in headlights. I turned.

Standing close to me, was a tall, dark-haired man with a cruel sneer on his face. He was staring at me harshly.

I looked into his mind, bypassing his shields with ease, and saw that he was the potions teacher.

"Professor Severus Snape." I said as smoothly as I could. I held my hand out to shake. He took it with a frown. I supposed that he didn't want to be rude to a lady. "The famous potions teacher, I presume?"

"You guessed correctly Ms. Merlin." Snape drawled. He gave me a look that was obviously supposed to be intimidating.

I wasn't impressed with his attempt.

"I look forward to working with you, Mr. Snape." I bowed my head and let go of his hand.

He walked away, shocked. All of the other teachers looked shocked, too. I smiled. This was going to be easy.

After Snape, I was introduced to the charms teacher, the divination teacher,- who was very scatter-brained, by the way -the Quidditch referee, the magical Healer, the Herbology professor, and the teachers of Ancient Runes, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Astronomy, and Arithmancy.

"I'm sorry you couldn't meet the librarian, but she's on a vacation at the moment, and couldn't be here with us today." Dumbledore said.

"It's quite alright, Headmaster." I said, a small smile gracing my lips.

"Severus, would you kindly escort Miss Merlin to her quarters?" Dumbledore asked Snape. Snape nodded, but looked a tad disgusted at the thought of spending more time with me than necessary.

_Locomotor_, I thought sharply. My trunk and my other, smaller bag levitated from the ground and began to follow me as Snape walked me to where I was going to be staying.

When we finally reached the place where my room was, Snape turned to me and began speaking.

"Miss Merlin, as long as you are a teacher here, you and I will unfortunately have an increased chance to cross paths whenever you step out of your room. I would like to request that when you see me, you do not wave or yell out redundant greetings. I am a very busy man and I do not wish to have my time wasted." Snape said. His cold, sharp eyes bore deep into mine, but I didn't flinch.

I never flinched when being stared down by someone lower than I.

"I would like to request the same. For the next two days," I pulled my wand from my boot and gestured for Snape to step aside, "I will be in my room, planning the year's lessons for the students. I will not be seeing you again until the year starts. You will have peace for two more days."

Snape complied and I waved my wand at the door, placing a magical lock on it. Only I and Professor Dumbledore would be able to enter.

The potions professor stared at my wand for a minute, and then looked back at me. I stared back at him.

His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to speak, but I raised a finger.

"Professor, I don't believe that any further instruction is needed." I touched the tip of my wand to the lock. "So I believe you should be on your way now."

"Miss Merlin, I would like to make a comment before you shut yourself into your room." Snape said, catching my arm as I turned to walk into the room. "I would like to say that you do not behave like the normal teenage witch. You act much more mature, and I was not expecting that."

"If I had a nickel for every time I have heard that…" I chuckled darkly and turned away from Snape. I closed the door behind me, and I heard the click of the magical locks that I'd added slip into place.

I flicked on a light switch, and a chandelier in the middle of the ceiling ignited. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden light, so I blinked a few times to help it along.

The room was not ugly at all. Of course, with the castle being as classy and elegant as it was, I had expected nothing more.

I walked across the checkered floor, and ran my hand across the mantle of a marble fireplace. To the left, there was one door, which I suspected was a bathroom, and on the right there was another. It was either the closet or the bathroom.

Right across from where I stood, against the far wall, there was a huge bed. It was the largest thing in the room, and had a canopy and curtains that hung from there. They were tied to the bed posts, but would be able to close. It was huge…and it was purple.

Ah, purple. The color of royalty since the Romans…since ancient Constantinople. Only the highest ranking officials and the emperor's heirs were allowed to wear purple. When I'd seen Albus wearing the color, I had to bite my tongue to keep from blurting out that he was a disgrace to all of the royalty in the world.

And now, my bed was purple. I was royalty, and I deserved it. However, it just didn't feel right without my father by my side.

Even as a little girl, my father had told me that only he and I could wear purple, since my mother had died when I was born. And he proceeded to dress me repeatedly in purple gowns, purple head dresses. Purple was one of the colors that I didn't detest.

Around the room, there were tapestries spun in silver and red and gold…the threads of white gleamed as they caught the light from the chandelier.

As I unpacked my bag- after enlarging it again, of course -I permitted myself another glance around the room. Four busts of what appeared to be the founders of Hogwarts- Helga, Salazar, Godric, and Rowena -decorated the room.

When I finished unpacking, I explored the doors that I'd seen earlier. Turns out, the one on the left was the closet, and the one on the right was the bathroom. Inside, there was a huge bathtub that looked more like a small swimming pool.

_It looks like such a wonderful place to bathe_, I thought. I waved my wand and a silk robe that I'd packed came rushing into the room. I caught it with one hand and placed it next to the bathtub.

Nag lifted his tired head from my neck. _"What are you doing?" _

"_I'm going to have a little bath. You are allowed to go wherever you want in the main room, or you could stay here with me. Though," _I paused, thoughtful, _"I don't suppose you would want or need a bath."_

Nag let out a small chuckle, and slithered off my neck and to the side of the tub.

"_I suppose I'll stay here with you, Citari." _He made himself into an interesting knot shape beside the bathtub, but kept his eyes on me nonetheless.

I turned a small knob on the wall, and water and soap began to pour into the bathtub.

While it was filling, I removed my cloak and untied the strings on the back of my dress. Under the dress, I had worn a corset. A little bit too renaissance, I know, but when I'd put it on, I had saw how good it worked with the dress. And so, I ended up keeping it on instead of a brassiere.

I unlaced the corset and let it drop to the floor along with the dress. I turned the knob and the water shut off. I dipped a toe in the water cautiously. It was hot, but I really liked a hot bath. I stepped all the way into the tub and sat back.

The bubbles that had formed because of the soap smelled sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. I could tell that Nag's nose was confused, though. His sense of smell was so much stronger than mine, and I felt sorry for him.

The first time I'd put on perfume around him, he'd gagged and threatened to faint on me. And of course, I'd been concerned about his health, so I'd asked him about it. He'd said that he was almost allergic to anything that smelled too strongly. I'd apologized immediately, and he'd forgiven me, but only on the condition that I never put on perfume again.

When I had asked why, Nag had said that he needed his nose to find food. He was a bit out of practice, though; he hadn't been outside in years. Not since the store came into his home and took him away from it.

I brushed some shampoo through my hair and rinsed it out. Then I looked at my wand, which was still on the rim of the tub, right where I'd left it. Good.

I'd heard of some wand snatchers running around the magical world. And who they worked for…I didn't know.

Besides the wand-snatchers, there were also some even worse people. Death Eaters? Was that their name? I wasn't sure. But I did know who they worked for. Some idiotic dunderhead named Voldemort. What kind of name was Voldemort? I quickly decided that it was a _nom de guerre, _just a war name. A name to intimidate his enemies. And it I hadn't worked very well when I had heard it. It had made me laugh.

This 'Voldemort' would not stand a chance against me. He would not hold a candle to how powerful I was. Perhaps I sounded a bit too confident, but I was the first witch. I would be the last.

Even if Voldemort managed to land a Killing Curse on me, it wouldn't matter. I would spring back to life in only a few hours. And then I would take him down.

I climbed out of the bath and dried off with a couple white towels that I found on a rack near the sink. I put my hair up in a towel and wrapped my robe around myself. I picked up a sleeping Nag and my wand, and walked back to the main room.

All of my clothes had found the closet, and were waiting for me to use them. I waved my wand and my favorite night gown came soaring out from the closet. I slipped it on, but left my hair up.

I walked over to the bed, but remembered then that I couldn't sleep. I let Nag curl around my neck and I took out a notepad and a feather quill. I wrote down the lesson plans for all of the different years.

Fist years would be easy. Easy to whip into shape and easy to keep them there. Easy to teach.

Second years would be slightly more tricky; they'd already had a DADA teacher that was different from me. I wondered what kind of teaching methods their old teacher had. I was sure that mine would be very unorthodox in their eyes.

Third years, fourth years, and so on would be even more difficult, but I decided that I could handle it.

I snapped the notepad closed and waved my wand at the chandelier. It was quickly extinguished, and I closed my eyes to pretend to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~!$%%^&*()(*&^%$$%^^&%$!~~~~~~~~

The next day progressed quickly, and soon it was the night of the student's first night at Hogwarts for the year. So I pulled on a dress instead of robes, and put on my dark green cloak.

I wound my hair around a clip and secured it to my head. A few curls managed to get loose and clung to my face. I put on some mascara and lip gloss. I secured my wand to my boot and exited my room with Nag around my neck again.

His position was loose, but he was still curled up. His head rested on the left side of my neck.

"_Why are you not wearing your robes, Citari?" _Nag asked me as we walked to the Great Hall.

"_Because I do not find a reason to. And besides, I won't be wearing robes all the time." _I told Nag, and stroked his head gently. He hissed quietly and almost fell asleep. I smiled and kept walking.

I arrived in the Great Hall a few minutes before all of the students got in.

"Ah, Miss Merlin!" said a ghost. It was Sir Nick. Or, as some of the students liked to call him, Nearly Headless Nick. "Where have you been for the past two days?"

"I've been perfecting the year's curriculum. As a teacher, I need to make sure that the students grasp every aspect of Defense Against the Dark Arts." I explained as we walked up to the head table, where Dumbledore sat already.

"That makes perfect sense, Miss Merlin!" Nick said as he floated behind me.

"Sir Nick, you may call me Citari." I said, bowing to the almost-decapitated ghost. He smiled and floated away, probably to go and scare some of the first-years.

"Miss Merlin, I believe you should take your seat." Dumbledore said, gesturing to the far end of the table.

I sat down in the chair that had my name plate on it. All of the other teachers sat in their respective seats, the ghosts stood near the tables of their houses, and the students began to come in.

It was the second years and up that came in through the doors first. They walked quickly to their tables and began speaking with each other about their summers. I smiled. Youth was so predictable.

After a few moments, the great doors opened again. The first years, lead by McGonagall, filed in and stood in a line. McGonagall sat a hat down onto a small wooden stool. The hat opened its…mouth?…and began to sing.

_Oh you may not think me pretty, But don't judge on what you see, I'll eat myself if you can find A smarter hat than me. _

_You can keep your bowlers black, Your top hats sleek and tall, For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat And I can cap them all. _

_There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see, So try me on and I will tell you Where you ought to be. You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave at heart, Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart; _

_You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil; _

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw , if you've a ready mind, Where those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind; _

_Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends, Those cunning folks use any means To achieve their ends. So put me on! Don't be afraid! And don't get in a flap! You're in safe hands (though I have none) For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

I clapped with the students as the Sorting Hat finished its song. Professor McGonagall began to call out the names for the Sorting.

When she got to the 'M's, I recognized one of the students. He was thin, and had a pale face and silvery-blonde hair…Malfoy.

"Malfoy, Draco!" McGonagall called. The boy stood and walked over to the sorting hat.

The hat had barely touched his head when it called out, "SLYTHERIN!" and all the people at the Slytherin table clapped and cheered.

I could tell that the Slytherins may be a problem; they were arrogant and not beneath hurting others to get what they wanted. But I decided that I would break them, no matter what.

There was one boy that really stood out in the Sorting. He was very thin, as well, and had scruffy black hair and glasses. Behind the glasses, I saw green eyes. He was cute, for an eleven-year-old. He looked very kind and unselfish.

McGonagall had called out his name, Harry Potter, and all of the students exploded with whispers. Not literally, but they all began to talk amongst themselves. There was something about this boy that was going to cause me trouble…I could feel it.

"Now that the Sorting is finished and we have yet to begin our feast, I would like to introduce the newest addition to our staff, Professor Citari Merlin!" Dumbledore said loudly.

I stood and bowed my head. The students clapped warily. It was obvious that they were cautious in my presence. When I sat again, the whispers started up again.

"Did he say _Merlin_?"

"Do you think that she's…?"

"I wonder how much homework…"

Dumbledore began talking, warning students to stay away from the corridor on floor whatever, and about the list of items that weren't allowed on campus. And then, the feast began. I didn't touch my food, obviously, and that earned me several looks from students and teachers alike.

After the feast, Dumbledore bid everyone a good night, and the students began to leave the room.

I did the same, not waiting until the students were out.

~~~!$$%$%^%^&^&^*&*&*()(&&^%%$!$%&&^$~~~

I sat at my desk, in my new classroom, with Nag curling himself around and around a paperweight that was shaped like my wand. I reached out a hand to Nag and his tongue gently flicked against it as he smelled me.

"_Let me guess…" _he hissed. _"You had to confiscate several articles of illegal items fro the students already." _

"_You guessed correctly again, Nag! Good job. I told you that that one whiff of perfume didn't ruin your nose!"_ I laughed. _"Now, tell me what I confiscated, Nag." _

"_I can't tell." _Nag sighed. _"Even I wouldn't be able to guess that. I'm not that good." _

I smiled and picked up my quill. The first class of the day would be with the first years. And as the day progressed, the students would get older and older, until I was teaching the most advanced students in the school.

My first class, a timid group of first years, began to come in the door. I smiled and set my quill down. Nag slithered up my arm and onto my shoulders.

"Good day, class." I said emotionlessly. I didn't want them to get too comfortable in my class. "You will- hopefully -find a book about Defense Against the Dark Arts. If you do not, I have some extra in a cabinet."

The students looked at their respective desks and pulled parchment and quills and ink from their bags.

"You can put those away, students." I said, waving my wand once. The quills and ink and parchment all went back into the student's bags. "You will not need them anytime this year. I will only be teaching you defensive spells."

All of the first years- which were Slytherin and Gryffindor -looked at each other in surprise, but looked thankful.

"Now. I do, however, have some ground rules." I began, and took out my wand. "You may not raise your want against another student unless it is permitted. There will be no talking out of turn, and no inappropriate behavior.

"I do not want you to take any materials out from your bags unless I say so. Are my rules clear?" I asked. There were nods from the class. "Good. Then we shall begin."

"Before I start teaching, I would like you to know a bit about me." I said. "My name is Citari Merlin, and I was born in Tikal, a place in South America.

"I have two degrees in medicine, and three in law enforcement. Are there any questions, comments, or concerns?" I asked.

"Are you related to Merlin?" a young girl with bushy brown hair asked. I narrowed my eyes.

"Miss Granger, you spoke out of turn. Five points from Gryffindor." I said. "But, to answer your question, I am the daughter of Merlin. I am the original witch."

There was a universal gasp that went around the room. I smirked inwardly and stroked Nag's head. He hadn't spoken a word since the children came in.

Most of the student's eyes wandered to Nag and looked alarmed.

"Oh! I'm sorry! This is Nag. He is my familiar. Don't worry; he's friendly." I explained and Nag lifted his head. His tongue flicked out as he smelled the room. He smelt the fear of the children in the room and looked very smug.

A hand went up in the corner of the room. I saw that it was Draco Malfoy.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"How old are you?" Malfoy asked smartly. He had a smirk on one half of his mouth.

"If you're judging by appearance, I am seventeen. If you want to be technical, I am two-thousand years old. I was born back in eighteen-hundred B.C." I said. And most of the class gasped again. "I was cursed by a very powerful wizard when I turned seventeen, and now I cannot die."

Malfoy looked down.

"Now that that's out of the way, I suppose we should start the lesson." I said, waving my wand and setting Nag down. I rolled up my sleeves. "Can anyone tell me what wizard is terrorizing the world today?" I looked around the room. "Yes, Mr. Longbottom."

"Uh…the Dark Lord." Neville said, voice shaking. He looked nervous.

"Correct, Mr. Longbottom. Five points for Gryffindor." I said. Neville had made up for Hermione's mistake. Good. "There is a reason that Mr. Longbottom did not say the name of this 'dark lord'. Is anyone able to tell me why that is?"

I looked around the room. Not a single hand went up.

"I should've guessed." I muttered. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. _They are just first years, though_, I thought, _so they wouldn't know anything about it…_"It is said that there has been a Taboo charm placed over the name of You-Know-Who. It hasn't been proven, but people have been disappearing. People who say the name of the 'Dark Lord.'" I looked around the room. "Can anyone tell me what the function of the Taboo charm is?"

There was one girl who raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Parkinson?"

The girl flipped her hair back and stood from her desk. She looked at me and spoke with a certain nastiness in her voice.

"Well, it's usually placed on a word." she said.

She seriously thought that that was the answer to the question?

"Miss Parkinson, I don't believe you understood the question. I asked what the _function _of the Taboo charm was."

Pansy just smiled smugly and still believed that she had said the correct answer.

"Miss Parkinson, are you actually trying to give the answer, or are you trying to get points for your house?" I asked her.

"How would you know? You're no older than a seventh year!" Pansy said, and flipped her hair again.

"Twenty points from Slytherin. Miss Parkinson, you should know that there will be no talking back in my classroom. By speaking out of turn, you have insulted me, and I have told you that I am two-thousand years old. So, yes, I am older than a seventh year.

"Perhaps, Miss Parkinson," I said as I turned back to my desk, "you could stay after class?" I wrote up her detention and handed it to her. "You know, so we can discuss why you can't pay attention because you're too busy writing love notes to Mr. Malfoy." I snatched a piece of parchment off of Malfoy's desk and handed it to her.

"You didn't say that we couldn't pass notes!" Pansy said and flipped her hair again.

"Miss Parkinson, that is another ten points from Slytherin. Keep this up and your house will not win the competition." I said. "And note-passing isn't allowed in any classroom in Hogwarts, Miss Parkinson. I apologize if that message wasn't communicated in my rules, but it was implied."

Outside, I remained cool, but inside I was fuming. How dare she come into my classroom and not attempt to learn at all, and then have the audacity to confront me in front of my entire class?

"Now, if it's alright with you, Miss Parkinson, I would like to continue my class." I said to her. She blushed and looked down. "Now sit so that I may continue the lesson." Pansy finally sat down and put her head down.

I wanted so badly to take out a ruler and rap it on her desk…but she may get startled and go to Dumbledore…so I didn't.

"As I was saying, what is the primary function of the Taboo charm?"

Malfoy raised his hand. I called on him.

Cheeks still red from the earlier incident, Malfoy spoke. "The Taboo charm is placed on a word when the caster wants to know who says the word."

"And how does it do that?"

"By creating a magical disturbance sensed only by the caster. It can also tell the location of the person that said the word that the Taboo charm was cast on." Malfoy said.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. Five points for Slytherin." I said.

The class progressed a lot like that. I would ask the students a question, they would answer, and I would award points to their houses for each correct answer.

A few minutes before the students were supposed to leave for their next classes, I turned to the class and gave them their homework assignment.

"For your homework, I would like you to look up the Reductor Curse. I want you to be able to tell me what it does, and the incantation that is used." I looked around the room. "That is all. Class dismissed. Miss Parkinson, you stay."

Pansy stood by my desk for a moment while I fed Nag a small mouse, and then I turned to her. I handed her another slip of paper that told her when her detention was, and shooed her out of the room.

My first class of the day…completed.

***Tikal- Tikal was one of the cities in the ancient Mayan Empire. **

****Yucatan Peninsula- a place in Southern America, and also the sight of the Mayan Empire. **

*****Caitari-(Kai-tah-ri) It's just a name that I made up. I'm not sure if it actually existed before I wrote it down, but if it didn't…well it does now. **

********_**Spero di vedervi presto, professor Dumbledore. Sarebbe un onore incontrarmi con voi. Con la pace- **_**Translation: I hope to see you soon, professor Dumbledore. It would be an honor to meet you. With peace. **

*******Citari Merlin-(Si-tah-ri Mer-lin) I made up the first name, but the last name is actually Merlin. **

********Nag- Nag is actually an Inland Taipan snake. And yes, that is an actual snake. The Inland Taipan is actually the most venomous snake in the world. There is a picture of Nag on my profile. Look under **_**Taipan Snake-Nag**_**.**

**Notes: **

**1.) This is a sudden-inspiration thing. This may just stay as the one-shot that it is, or it may continue to be a full story. Either way is fine with me. **

**2.) As some of you may have noticed, I bent the rules in this FanFiction a little bit. Well, I have the authority to do that. So anybody that doesn't like it better stop reading this Fic. **

**3.) My own OC(s) aren't supposed to bear any resemblance to any real people. I'm sorry if they do, but any similarities are not intended. **

**4.) My main characters tend to be a bit…Mary-Sue-Ish. And I'm sorry if anybody really, really hates that, but Citari isn't all-powerful. Her flaw is her arrogance. Like I said, she was born a princess. She isn't all that humble. **

**Well, that's all for now. And maybe, just maybe, I'll let you see why this story is SnapeXOC. **

**So tell me, should I continue? Was this chapter long enough? Care to review or PM me to let me know?**

**(Note: I do not respond to flames. And any anonymous flamers are just little chickens. Sorry if you're an anonymous flamer, but you're just a wimp.)**

**~M.M.**


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